Improved method of treating offal



MM/@m Figa.

OOQOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO o'oooQooOOoooooooooooooooo0000000000000000000000000 ooooooooooo o'ooooooooooo0000OOOOOOOOOOOOOQOOOOQ oooooooooooooooaooooooooooooooooooo000000060001000 yooooooooOooooooooooooooj In'ven'tof'.

UNITED STATES PATENT GEEICE.

WILLIAM ADAMSON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVED METHOD OF TREATING OFFAL.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 46,3 l S, datedFebruary 14, 1865.

To a/ZZ whom it may con/cern:

Be it known that I, WILLTAM ADAMsoN, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, haveinvented an Improved Treatment ot' Offal; and Ido hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters ofreference marked thereon.

My invention consists in utilizing oft'al by draining, drying, anddsinfectingit, substan tially in the manner described hereinafter.

In order to enable others to practice my invention,I will now proceed todescribe the manner of carrying it into effect.

In Chicago, and other cities of thev west, where vast quantities of hogsand other cattle are slaughtered, the proper disposal of the offal hasbeen a subject of much consideration. It has hitherto been the practiceto throw the offal into the rivers and creeks, to the an noyance ofthose living` in the neighborhood, and to the detriment of the publichealth. Recently attempts have been made to utilize this offal byconverting it into a fertilizer, the offal being placed in heaps on theground and permitted to ferment, after which it was spread out andallowed to dry. This plan proved to be impracticable owing to thenoxious exhalations from the offal during the fer inenting and dryingprocesses.

By my invention the oifal is converted into valuable manure, and theabove nuisance obviated.

Figure l represents a vertical section of a building for drying anddisinfecting otfal and converting it into manure; Fig. 2, a transversesection Fig. 3, a plan view, and Fig. 4 a modified form ot building.

The building A may be either of brick, Wood, or other suitable material,should be about twice as long as it is broad, and should have the usualinclined root', B, part of which is detachable for the introduction ofthe oft'al, which is deposited on a floor or platform, D, consisting ofperforated plates, wire-netting, or suitable grating, supported byappropriate joists, E. Beneath this door and at one end of the buildingis a fire place, F, for receiving the fuel, by means of which theprocess is in part effected.

Another and more economical mode of constructing the building is thatillustrated in Fig. 4, where G represents the surface of the ground, andH a trench with inclined sides, which may be simply paved or cemented,or even the bare ground will in some cases suftice. The grated Hoor orperforated platform D is in this instance on a level withv the surfaceof the ground, andis covered by a low building, I, the roof of which, ora portion of it, is detachable.

Having deposited on the grating or floor a layer of straw, or stubble,or twigs, or branches of trees, I place on the latter a mass of offalfrom the slaughter-houses, &c. The roof is then closed in and the otfalleft to drain for a few hours. A fire is then kindled in the fireplace Fand the products of combustion permitted to pervade the whole spacebeneath the grated floor D. The first effect of the heat will be to-warm the mass of off-al and to set free therefrom alarge quantity ofwater, for I have discovered that when as much water as possible hasbeen drawn olf without the application of heat the latter will causeafurther drainage. The fire is continued and the products of combustionpermitted to pass through the mass, which dually `becomes dry,disinfected, and ready for removal. It is then treated according to anyof the usual processes for making phosphates or animal manure. While thefire is burning I from time to time throw onto it spent tan, grapevinetwigs, or any other matter containing tannin, the fumes and smoke fromwhich have rapid and certain disinfecting properties.

By the above-described process all oft'al hitherto discarded andheretofore deemed a nuisance and matter dilicult to dispose ot' can beconvertedinto a manure at a Very tritling cost compared with its valueas a fertilizer.

It will be evident that the buildings for carrying out my process may bevaried as regards form and construction without. departing from the mainfeature of my inven tion. The dre-place, for instance, may be at Inltestimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the`presence of ltWo subscribing witnesses.

WM. ADAMSON.

Witnesses:

`HENRY HoWsoN,

JOHN WHIATE.

